The Last Place Hero's Return

Chapter 253: Interlude – Warmth (2)

Honestly, up until the moment Laneige first pressed herself against me, a part of me was brimming with confidence. I was thinking how much she could even do. No, calling it confidence would be generous. It was arrogance. It couldn’t be helped. Even if I didn’t count my past life, there was a clear gap between me—who had already racked up plenty of nighttime experience through Iris, Yurina, and Elisha—and Laneige, a complete beginner.

But that was my mistake. Like a starving beast, Laneige clung to me. With our bodies entwined, she devoured me like a ravenous demon that could never be satisfied.

“Hah, Dale, it feels so good. You’re so warm, Dale. It’s still not enough. I want to feel you more, Dale. More! Make me warmer! More...”

Was it because the power of her Blessing had grown even stronger this time, strong enough to affect her physical endurance as well? Even I, who prided myself on my stamina, found it hard to keep up as she relentlessly sought my warmth. Yes, relentlessly, for roughly three straight days.

The room was thick with damp heat, like the inside of a sauna. Laneige lay beside me, letting out a languid sigh and using my arm as a pillow. She wriggled closer, clinging to me like a spoiled child. “Hehe. Dale, you’re so warm. I love it.”

I looked at her. “L-Laneige.”

“Hm? What is it?”

Dried out like jerky, I shook my head, my voice trembling. “I-I think... t-that’s enough now.”

At this rate, my Blessing of Resurrection would actually activate.

“Ah, s-sorry! I was just so happy, finally being connected to you, Dale, that I couldn’t help myself...” Laneige trailed off, her face flushed red.

* * *

From the day she had first fallen for Dale, she had spent countless late nights alone under her blanket, longing for him. With all those pent-up emotions bursting at once, her desire had spiraled out of control.

Laneige squeezed her eyes shut and rested her head against Dale’s chest. Curling up, she clung to him like a baby bird craving warmth.

Dale stared at her. “Laneige?”

“A-ah, yeah. S-sorry. I know I should stop now.”

Even though she knew Dale was exhausted, she couldn’t bring herself to let go. If his warmth disappeared right now, she felt like she would lose Dale too.

“Is it because of your mother?” he asked.

Laneige flinched. He was right. Even if she had let go of the resentment she had buried deep inside, even if she had scrubbed away the stains marring her faded memories, the sight of her mother dying before her eyes was burned vividly into her mind. That was why even though she knew he was tired, she still clung to him. Like gripping a warm hand warmer on a freezing winter night, she couldn’t stop craving his warmth.

Clinging to Dale, she said in a small voice, “Sorry. I know I should forget already. But it just keeps coming back to me.”

* * *

I gently stroked Laneige’s head while she avoided my gaze. Somehow, no matter how strong her libido was, the way she refused to leave my side, it had felt almost desperate. It seemed she still hadn’t escaped the shock brought on by Seria’s death.

That was understandable. Laneige had always been fragile at heart. Even if the ending hadn’t been entirely tragic this time, there was no way she could forget witnessing her mother’s death so quickly.

“Dale...”

As if trying to overwrite the memory of her mother, she pressed herself against me. A faint tremor passed through her body where our skin touched.

Swallowing a bitter smile, I gently kissed her forehead. “You don’t have to force yourself to forget. It’s not something you can erase just by trying.”

Laneige lifted her head and stared straight at me. “What did you do, Dale, when that happened?”

“Huh?”

“You lost someone precious too, in your previous life.”

“That’s...”

Yeah, I was no different. Unable to forget the companions who had died before my eyes, I had wandered the snowfields like a ghost.

“What did I do, huh?” I shook my head with a wry smile. “There wasn’t anything I could do.”

Laneige kept quiet, waiting for me to finish. The pain of loss was branded into my memory like a scar—something nothing could ever erase.

I continued, “I thought time would make it better. It didn’t. So, instead of forgetting, I chose to remember.”

“Remember?”

“Yeah. So that I wouldn’t forget. Ever. If you can’t forget, then remembering is an option too.”

I would carry my comrades’ belongings with me, constantly reminiscing about them. Eventually, I even started talking to illusions I had created in my mind, trading jokes with them, all so I could remember them.

Laneige’s eyes trembled slightly. “Remembering... Okay, I won’t force myself to forget.”

With a faint smile, she tightened her arms around me. For some reason, it felt as though the image of her mother in her mind was smiling brightly.

I turned to her. “Alright, then, we should probably...”

“Hehe. I know, Dale.”

Laneige released the arms she had been hugging me with, smiling brightly as she slowly pushed herself up. Then, still wrapped in the blanket, she wriggled her way downward.

“Huh?”

What? Why are you going down there? I asked internally.

“Mm? You’re saying we should keep going because you’ve rested enough now, right?” With a radiant smile, Laneige climbed on top of me.

I was speechless. Dear God, please, have mercy.

* * *

After that day, my daily life didn’t change all that much. The Hero Academy was still on winter break, and I continued my training to master the power of the Tree of Creation, occasionally keeping in touch with the rest of the party.

If anything, the bigger change happened on Laneige’s side. Since her control over the Blessing of the Frost had increased dramatically, she now spent much more time training on her own.

While training together with me would definitely be more efficient for her, apparently, if she stayed around me, she felt the uncontrollable urge to pounce on me again. So, it couldn’t be helped. Either way, she was doing her best to stand on her own.

Waking up early in the morning, I folded my blanket and glanced around the empty kitchen. “Man, still, it feels kind of empty without her around all the time.”

When we had first slept together, I was honestly worried I would get exploited nonstop until winter break ended. But aside from the nights she visited every few days, I actually ended up spending more time alone than before. I had even asked her whether she was pushing herself too hard by keeping her distance.

She had replied, “T-this is just right. I-I want to be with you all the time too, Dale, but I’d feel bad toward the others.”

Her dazzling growth had nearly brought tears to my eyes.

But then she had continued, “A-and also, after actually experiencing it, it was way, way better than I imagined, so, um, I k-keep thinking about it. And if I’m not careful, I might, um, explode... like the first time. No, even worse. S-so, Dale, you’ll take care of me then, right? Y-you won’t die, will you? Ah, right. You come back to life even if you die, so maybe it’s fine?”

At that point, I couldn’t stop myself from tearing up. It would probably be fine if I didn’t let Laneige go berserk again. And given my upright, exemplary, absolutely problem-free human relationships, that wasn’t something I really needed to worry about.

“Alright, guess I should head out.”

After finishing a light breakfast with the lunchbox Laneige had prepared for me the night before, I headed to the party house. When I opened the door, an empty building greeted me. I walked around the vacant party house, a bitter smile forming on my lips. I missed everyone. Although we stayed in touch from time to time through the Hero Watch, it wasn’t the same as everyone gathering here.

Still, reuniting with the party wasn’t far off. “Winter break ends next week anyway... Alright, then.”

I activated powers of both the Tree of Creation and the Primordial Flame at once, slowly fusing them. Brilliant ashen gray flames flared up. Parts of my body transformed into cinders as an infinite surge of mana boiled forth. I was getting used to this. At first, I could only maintain this state for a few seconds. Now, I could hold my Flame Body form for nearly a full minute.

I had been training for several hours when a knocking sound came from the party house door. “Hm?”

Is it Laneige? Come to think of it, it’s almost lunchtime. Even though we trained separately, Laneige usually brought lunchboxes over every day so we could eat together.

However, why would she knock? She had clearance to enter the party house and could just use her cadet ID and come in. Tilting my head in confusion, I opened the door. And standing there was someone I totally didn’t expect. It was a person with radiant, platinum-blonde hair and half-lidded, languid eyes—refined features that made it obvious at a glance she was of noble birth.

“Hm. Is this the place Lionel built for your party? For all the boasting, it’s not all that impressive,” she said.

“Your Majesty?”

Unlike the imperial palace, where she was always dressed in sleepwear, Camellia was wearing comfortable outdoor clothes today, smiling brightly at me. “It has been a while. Have you been well?”

“What brings you to the Hero Academy?”

“There are two reasons.” With her arms crossed, Camellia raised one finger. “First, a summit conference will soon be held here.”

Camellia strode closer. Slowly, she reached out and gently traced my chin with her index finger and thumb. “And second, because I wished to see your face again.”

I was at a loss for words.

Camellia lifted her chin, wearing her usual arrogant smile. “Hehe. Why that expression? Are you so moved by the honor of the Empress herself coming to see you?”

As I stared at her with a look of pure disbelief, something hit the floor. Turning toward the sound, I saw a familiar lunchbox lying on the ground.

Laneige stood there, staring at us with wide eyes. “Dale? That woman, who is she?”

The light drained from her gaze, as if darkness itself were descending. Her eyes, dyed in hollow black, turned toward me.

What do I do now? I think I’m fucked.